More than 40,000 Vietnamese were allegedly tricked into paying VND407 billion (US$16 million) into Tatao Live, a purported AI-powered livestream shopping platform.
Police in the central Nghe An Province have initiated legal proceedings against seven people behind the platform, the Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security announced last week.
The suspects face charges of money laundering and using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices to appropriate assets.
The ring was led by foreigners and operated under the guise of businesses belonging to the Tatao Live system.
Initial investigations found that the group established Tatao Vietnam Technology Co. Ltd. and Livestream AI Market Development Co. Ltd. in June 2025.
The group used the website tataovn.com and social media channels to promote the Tatao Live app to raise funds and appropriate participants' money.
To gain customers' trust, the group organized conferences, livestream sessions, and online meetings to introduce its development strategy and explain its commission policies.
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A member of the group that runs the Tatao Live platform is seen standing in a room where the platform is operated in Nghe An Province, central Vietnam. Photo by police |
Tatao Live was promoted as an artificial intelligence platform that created virtual characters to replace humans in livestream sales. It was marketed under labels such as an "AI retail ecosystem," with "AI Livestream" technology supposedly generating revenue automatically.
The platform also advertised partnerships with e-commerce platforms like TikTok, Shopee, and Lazada.
The group regularly held conferences and showcased images of people receiving or successfully withdrawing money. They also hosted lucky draws offering prizes such as motorbikes and phones.
Some individuals were planted to create a fear-of-missing-out effect, convincing people that the scheme offered a quick and low-risk way to make money.
The Tatao Live app was listed on Google Play starting in January 2026. However, it was not officially available on Apple’s App Store, requiring users to access a direct link provided by Tatao or download an Android Package Kit (APK) file to install the software.
After installing Tatao Live, customers had to pay for an AI Livestream package to activate their accounts. The initial promotional price was VND2.9 million for "lifetime use."
They were then offered Matrix Livestream AI packages priced at VND14.9 million, VND84.9 million, and VND418.9 million.
Once their accounts were activated, users could open the app, select the AI Livestream section, watch a video for around 30 seconds to one minute, and then close it.
After two to four hours, the system automatically credited money to their in-app e-wallets under labels such as livestream revenue, AI commissions, or Tatao coins.
The advertised earnings ranged from VND30,000 to VND50,000 a day for the AI Livestream package, and VND900,000 to VND1.5 million for the Matrix Livestream package.
Once their balances reached VND200,000, participants could submit withdrawal requests to linked bank accounts. Payments were made through payment gateways or transferred directly to bank accounts belonging to Tatao Vietnam Technology Co. Ltd.
Initially, the group paid participants for about a week, making them believe the system was legitimate.
The aim was to encourage existing participants to recruit others. The more new members they referred, the higher they earned.
However, criminal police found that customers had no specific information about the AI Livestream platform or the products supposedly being sold. Tatao Live had no storefronts, shopping carts, product categories, or order information.
The platform also failed to demonstrate that it generated revenue from e-commerce activities. Payments to participants were generally funded by money from service packages purchased by earlier participants and then paid to later ones.
Initial investigations found that Tatao Live had more than 40,000 accounts nationwide, corresponding to around 40,000 Vietnamese customers who had been drawn into the scheme.
By April, the system had raised a substantial amount of money. Users could no longer withdraw their funds, with withdrawal requests showing only a "processing" status.
Many groups disbanded, and Tatao's offices closed.
Police determined that before shutting down the system, the group had withdrawn cash and transferred money through multiple intermediary accounts. They also destroyed documents, moved assets, and showed signs of transferring assets overseas to conceal them.
Victims are estimated to have paid a total of VND407 billion into the Tatao Live system.
Police initially determined that the group had appropriated more than VND220 billion after deducting payments including staff salaries, AI commissions, and commissions paid to the network. Authorities have also frozen more than VND8.6 billion.
Beyond the alleged direct fraud, the domain tataovn.com was found to lead to a server address belonging to Alibaba Cloud in China.
Furthermore, distributing Tatao Live outside official app stores raised transparency concerns and showed signs of transmitting user data to servers outside Vietnam.